Families denied access to four detained Maungdaw Twsp men including village administrator

By DMG 18 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
18 August 2022, Maungdaw  

Family members have not been allowed to see four men from northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, including a village administrator and a village in-charge, who were arrested by the Myanmar military about a month ago. 

U Phone Ko Naing, the administrator of Kyeinchaung village, was detained along with Ko Tun Chay, Ko Tun Kyaing and U Ba Thein, a village in-charge for Thayargon village, on July 19 and 20, when they were taken into custody by military and Border Guard Force (BGF) personnel. 

“We have not been in contact with them since their arrest,” said a family member of U Phone Ko Naing. “They were remanded for 15 days for a second time and we have not been allowed to meet them.” 

The four men are currently being held at a BGF camp about one mile north of Kyeinchaung village, according to family members. 

U Ba Thein, 32, was detained on July 20 when he, along with the administrator of Thinbawha village, went to a BGF camp in Taungpyo village for a meeting. 

Dozens of ward and village administrators from Arakan State have resigned abruptly in recent years, with fear of arrest making up a significant proportion of the reasons cited. 

Family members are worried about U Ba Thein’s wellbeing as they have been repeatedly denied access to the detainee, said Daw Ma Sein Mya, the man’s elder sister. 

“We went to the BGF camp at least 10 times to meet him but we were denied access. We are concerned for his safety. We have yet to receive any information about his fate,” she added. 

The Myanmar military arrested the four men after its troops clashed with the Arakan Army in northern Maungdaw Township on July 18. 

A family member of Ko Tun Chay said: “He has been detained for one month and has not been allowed to meet family members. Family members are worried about his safety. We want him released as soon as possible because he is not guilty.” 

DMG attempted to contact Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura for comment on the detention of the four men, but he could not be reached. 

Local people in Maungdaw Township, meanwhile, are concerned about possible food shortages as the military has blocked off the main road linking the township with the Arakan State capital Sittwe following fighting with the Arakan Army on Saturday.